Polygonal prism
A polygonal prism receives at least one incident light and generates at least one outward light. The prism includes a first plane, a second plane parallel with the first plane, a third plane that crosses the first and second planes at an angle, and a fourth plane that is perpendicular to the first and second planes, with the prism made from one piece of material.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polygonal prism, and in particular, to a polygonal prism that can be used to convert an incoming ray of light into separate light rays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The advancements in technology have made laser appliances useful for a wide variety of applications. Examples include laser levelers for use in marking lines in engineering work, and optical instruments or lenses for survey instruments. A polygonal prism is a basic part of these laser devices.
Conventional polygonal prisms are typically provided in the form of two pieces (e.g., a triangular three-dimensional piece and a pentagonal three-dimensional piece) that are glued together to form the polygonal prism. Selected planes or surfaces of the two pieces are coated with semi-reflective film or fully reflective film to alter the path of a light beam that is directed at selected planes or surfaces of the polygonal prism. Specifically, the incident (i.e., incoming) light is refracted or reflected to change the directions of the light, so that the polygonal prism outputs a plurality of light beams that are emitted at desired and precise angles with respect to each other.
Unfortunately, precision in the bonding of the two prism pieces is critical. Specifically, the two prism pieces must be bonded precisely before undergoing precision polishing. In addition, for the emitted light outputs to be accurate, certain surfaces or planes of the two prism pieces must be precisely parallel to each other after the two prism pieces are bonded together. Unfortunately, this precise bonding can be difficult and expensive to accomplish.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonal prism that is made in a single piece.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a polygonal prism which is provided at lower costs.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a polygonal prism which accurately receives and emits light.
In order to achieve the objectives of the present invention, there is provided a polygonal prism that receives at least one incident light and generates at least one outward light. The prism includes a first plane, a second plane parallel with the first plane, a third plane that crosses the first and second planes at an angle, and a fourth plane that is perpendicular to the first and second planes, with the prism made from one piece of material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
When viewed from the side (e.g., see
In the embodiment of
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first plane 302 may be coated with red light for passing and green light for reflection, the second plane 304 may be coated with red light and green light for passing and blue light for reflection. If a white light is introduced into the prism 300 in the same direction as the incident light 312, the first outward light 314 would then be blue, the second outward light 316 would be red, and the third outward light 318 would then be green. Similarly, if the three incident lights 402, 404 and 406 are blue, red and green, respectively, then the combined outward light 408 would be white light.
Referring to
Although the description hereinabove has described coating certain planes with partially-reflective or fully reflective films, it is possible to coat any of the planes 302, 304, 306, 308, 310 with no film, a partially reflective film, or a fully reflective film, depending on the desired light outputs. It is also possible to provide coatings in other patterns to decompose the white incident light into any desired set of outgoing lights having different colors. It is further possible to combine a plurality of incident lights of any set of different colors to produce a single outward light of any desired colors. The implementation of these alternatives would be well-known to a person of ordinary skill in the art given the disclosures made hereinabove.
Thus, the polygonal prism 300 of the present invention is made in one piece using a simple process, rather than by bonding two separate prism pieces. As a result, the prism 300 can be made using less time and work, thereby reducing its cost.
While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. A polygonal prism that receives at least one incident light and generates at least one outward light, comprising:
- a first plane;
- a second plane parallel with the first plane;
- a third plane that crosses the first and second planes at an angle A; and
- a fourth plane that is perpendicular to the first and second planes;
- wherein the prism is made from one piece of material.
2. The prism of claim 1, wherein the first plane is coated with a partially reflective film.
3. The prism of claim 2, wherein the second plane is coated with a partially reflective film.
4. The prism of claim 3, wherein the third plane is coated with a fully reflective film.
5. The prism of claim 1, wherein an incident light introduced to the second plane generates a first outward light from the second plane, a second outward light from the first plane, and a third outward light from the fourth plane, with the second and third outgoing lights having an angle B which is two times the angle A.
6. The prism of claim 5, wherein the angle A is 45 degrees and the angle B is 90 degrees.
7. The prism of claim 1, wherein a first incident light introduced to the second plane, a second incident light introduced to the first plane, and a third incident light introduced to the fourth plane, generates an outward light from the second plane at an angle with respect to the second plane.
8. The prism of claim 5, wherein:
- the first plane is coated with red light for passing and green light for reflection, and
- the second plane is coated with red light and green light for passing and blue light for reflection,
- such that introduction of a white light as the incident light would result in the first outward light being blue, the second outward light being red, and the third outward light being green.
9. The prism of claim 7, wherein:
- the first plane is coated with red light for passing and green light for reflection, and
- the second plane is coated with red light and green light for passing and blue light for reflection,
- such that when the first, second and third incident lights are blue, red and green, respectively, and the outward light is white light.
10. The prism of claim 1, wherein the material is optical plastic or glass.
11. The prism of claim 1, further including a fifth plane that crosses the first and third planes.
12. A polygonal prism that receives at least one incident light and generates at least one outward light, comprising:
- a one-piece block having: a first plane; a second plane parallel with the first plane; a third plane that crosses the first and second planes at an angle A; and a fourth plane that is perpendicular to the first and second planes; and
- a carriage having a surface attached to one of the planes of the one-piece block.
13. The prism of claim 12, wherein the first plane is coated with a partially reflective film.
14. The prism of claim 13, wherein the second plane is coated with a partially reflective film.
15. The prism of claim 14, wherein the third plane is coated with a fully reflective film.
16. The prism of claim 12, wherein an incident light introduced to the second plane generates a first outward light from the second plane, a second outward light from the first plane, and a third outward light from the fourth plane, with the second and third outgoing lights having an angle B which is two times the angle A.
17. The prism of claim 16, wherein the angle A is 45 degrees and the angle B is 90 degrees.
18. The prism of claim 12, wherein a first incident light introduced to the second plane, a second incident light introduced to the first plane, and a third incident light introduced to the fourth plane, generates an outward light from the second plane at an angle B with respect to the second plane.
19. The prism of claim 16, wherein:
- the first plane is coated with red light for passing and green light for reflection, and
- the second plane is coated with red light and green light for passing and blue light for reflection,
- such that introduction of a white light as the incident light would result in the first outward light being blue, the second outward light being red, and the third outward light being green.
20. The prism of claim 18, wherein:
- the first plane is coated with red light for passing and green light for reflection, and
- the second plane is coated with red light and green light for passing and blue light for reflection,
- such that when the first, second and third incident lights are blue, red and green, respectively, and the outward light is white light.
21. The prism of claim 12, wherein the one-piece block is optical plastic or glass.
22. The prism of claim 12, further including a fifth plane that crosses the first and third planes.
Type: Application
Filed: May 20, 2004
Publication Date: Jun 23, 2005
Inventor: Tony Chen (Pingjen City)
Application Number: 10/850,181